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Skipton stands at the point where the Yorkshire Dales begin and the West Yorkshire urban fringe ends. It is a market town of approximately 15,000 people, with a Norman castle at its head, a broad High Street that has been the commercial centre of upper Airedale for at least eight hundred years, and a reputation as one of the finest markets in the north of England.
It is also the best-connected point in the Dales by rail — direct trains from Leeds in 45 minutes, from Manchester in about an hour and a half. For visitors approaching the Dales from the south-east, Skipton is the natural starting point.
Skipton Castle is one of the most complete medieval castles in England. It was founded by Robert de Romille shortly after the Norman Conquest, developed through the medieval period, held for the Royalists in the Civil War (it was the last Royalist castle in the north to fall, surrendering in 1645 after a three-year siege) and restored by Lady Anne Clifford in the 1650s.
The castle is still in private ownership — it has been in the same family since Lady Anne Clifford's restoration — and is open daily to the public. The medieval great hall, the conduit court, the kitchen tower and the Tudor walled garden are all intact and accessible. The view from the tower over the town and the surrounding countryside is extensive.
Skipton market runs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with a livestock market on Mondays. The street market is one of the largest in the Dales — spreading up both sides of the broad High Street from the castle to the town hall — and covers everything from local produce to clothing to secondhand books.
The Monday market has been operating on this site since a royal charter granted in 1208. Eight hundred years of continuous commerce in the same location is not a common thing in England.
The Springs Canal, connecting the Leeds–Liverpool Canal to the limestone quarries at the head of the Beck, runs through the northern edge of the town and is one of the most unusual features of the Skipton townscape. Built in 1773, it is one of the shortest commercial canals in England — barely a mile long — and its purpose was entirely industrial: transporting limestone from the quarries to the barges on the main canal.
The towpath along the Springs Canal is a pleasant short walk from the town centre to the castle.
North of Skipton, the A65 runs through Grassington to the heart of Wharfedale. The A59 runs north-west to Settle and the western Dales. The town is the natural base for a self-catering holiday in the southern Dales and has the best range of shops and services for restocking on longer stays.
Skipton and the southern Dales can be included in a bespoke Yorkshire Dales tour from Windermere.